The Blackstone Group's potential IPO would force a shift in focus for the private equity giant. As a public company, Blackstone would lose some flexibility, says Phillip Phan, professor at the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Private equity firms are free to spend four or five years building up an acquired company without having to worry about satisfying the quarterly demands of public investors. As a publicly held company, Blackstone's transactions have require a quicker turnaround in the range of two years, he says. He believes there are plenty of targets in emerging markets, from Eastern Europe to Asia, that could be turned around in that time frame. So a public Blackstone might push deeper into the global market, too.